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WEATHER TONIGHT Mainly clear. Cold. Low of 14.
The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
“Your way of giving is more important than what you give.” — Vietnamese proverb
www.thewestfieldnews.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2014
VOL. 83 NO. 270
75 cents
Single-stream recycling set for January start Board of Selectmen members Russell Fox and Joseph Deedy, Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart, Town Counsel Benjamin Coyle, and Administrative Assistant and Liquor License Coordinator Sondra Pendleton listen to a question from the audience during a public hearing on liquor license regulations last night. (Photo by Hope E. Tremblay)
Few concerns raised during liquor hearing By Hope E. Tremblay Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – A public hearing on the town’s updated liquor license regulations was conducted in just 11 minutes last night. With few questions or concerns from the audience, the Board of Selectmen closed the hearing on the new regulations, which Town Counsel Benjamin Coyle said were “very similar to the ones enacted now.” The biggest change is the requirement for all licensed establishments to participate in Training and Intervention Procedures for Servers (TIPS). The regulations require the licensed manager and at least
one employee be TIPS-certified and at work during all hours of operation. Both off-premise and on-premise TIPS certification is required. Off-premise is for managers or servers in stores that sell liquor, while on-premise is for those working in restaurants, bars, hotels and night clubs. Barbacks, bartenders, servers, managers and owners are included in the regulations. Police Det. Robert Landis noted that all paperwork regarding employees and TIPS must be up-to-date and readily available at all times. An updated roster must be submitted to the Board of See Liquor Hearing, Page 8
Sewer, stormwater separation work initiated By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The City is bringing its Elm Street sewer and stormwater lines into compliance with standards issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection. City Engineer Mark Cressotti said that while Westfield has two separate sewer and stormwater systems, those lines share common manholes. “There are not in the same pipe, but systems do have the
potential to overflow into each other because they share common manholes with a weir separating the two,” Cressotti said. “The DEP has requested the city to isolate those systems and remove any potential for cross contamination.” Cressotti said the work will not require opening the pavement of Elm Street between Franklin Street and Main Street. Trucks needed to perform the separation work will be parked at manholes along
that area of Elm Street while the project is underway. The cost of installing devices to separate the two systems is approximately $40,000. Public Works Deputy Superintendent Casey Berube said this morning that the project scope of work involves encapsulating either the sewer line or the stormwater pipe at alternating manhole structures. “They’re alternating so our guys will have access to either the stormwater pipe or
the sewer line,” Berube said. “They’re also installing cleanouts in the encapsulated pipe. The contractor is only separating five structures along the west side of Elm Street . The project to correct the potential cross contamination, especially during storms, is being designed by engineering consultant CBM Smith Inc. and the work is being performed by National Water Main Cleaning, Inc., of Connecticut.
the Gateway Regional High School auditorium, will be held to assess the needs of the six remaining communities still served by the GRSD and the town of Worthington, which opted to withdraw from the district, chiefly due to the desire to reopen the R.H. Conwell Elementary School, which was closed in 2010 due to budgetary issues and has since been resurrected as a private institution. DESE’s reasoning for facilitating the
See Single-Stream, Page 8
School Committee approves Anonymous Alerts funding
conference is to initiate a long range education plan to determine the overall impacts of the withdrawal, especially on the district’s current and future enrollment. Additionally, the conference will serve as an inventory of all educational facilities under the jurisdiction of the remaining communities in the district. Committee Chairwoman Michele See DESE, Page 8
See Alerts, Page 8
Fire not suspicious By CarlE. Hartdegen Staff Writer WESTFIELD – A fire Saturday evening at 75 Wildflower Circle has been found to not be ‘suspicious’ in origin, investigators report. Westfield Deputy Fire Chief Patrick Egloff said yesterday afternoon that he and a state police investigator attached to the Massachusetts Fire Marshal’s office investigated the cause of the fire and found it was the result of an electrical malfunction. He went on to say that the house was extensively damaged. “It may not be a total (loss) but it would take a ton of money to fix it” he said. Nobody was injured Saturday evening when city firefighters responded to the alarm and found a fire burning
distributed,” Rouse said. “The contractors will be following the trash trucks as they collect along the routes.” Rouse said that residents “should not start using the new 65-gallon containers, until the January 5th launch date.” “The 65-gallon containers will be burgundy in color,” Rouse said. “There will be an information packet delivered with the new containers. That packet will have information explaining the whole program and also a sticker to put on the lid of the grey 96 gallon containers which will be used for the single-stream recycling collection.”
By Peter Francis Staff Writer WESTFIELD – Efforts are being made to reduce incidents of bullying in Westfield schools. Last night, the Westfield School Committee approved a transfer of $2,635 to implement Anonymous Alerts, a software program enabling students to anonymously report bullying, cyberbullying and other behaviors, The funds were taken from the district’s school choice revolving account and the program would be implemented for the remainder of the year, districtwide. The measure passed 6-1. Westfield School Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Scallion told the committee that Abner Gibbs Elementary School Principal Chris Rodgers has been working on shoring up the district’s emergency system with city police and fire departments, when it comes to methods to help students anonymously report bullying in the city’s schools. “There’s been lots of research and media coverage on the number of times that different events have been thwarted thanks to kids ‘dropping a dime’,” said Scallion. “(Anonymous reporting) is the contemporary way of dropping a dime.” Scallion added that, due to budget constraints, approving the
Gateway preps for DESE needs conference By Peter Francis Staff Writer HUNTINGTON – During last night’s meeting of the Gateway Regional School Committee, a discussion was held regarding the upcoming reorganization needs conference between the district, member towns and the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The conference, which will take place Wednesday, December 3 at 6:30 p.m. in
By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The singlestream recycling program will be launched during the week of January 5th for residents on the recycling collection schedule for that week and for residents whose normal recycling week is slated for the following week. Health Director Joseph Rouse said delivery of the new 65-gallon containers, which will become residents’ new trash containers, will begin during the first week of December. “We’re starting the singlestream recycling in January because it will take a couple of weeks to get the new 65-gallon trash containers
Gaslight work slowing as winter approaches
Westfield firefighters Lee Kozikowski and Steven Makos hose down a burning house at 75 Wildflower Circle Saturday night. (File photo by Liam Sheehan) in the attic area. Nobody was at home at the time of the blaze which broke through the roof before firefighters were able to extinguish the fire. Egloff said that the bulk of the damage caused by the fire was confined to the upper floor of the two story single-
family house. While the city firefighters were occupied by the fire, firefighters from West Springfield and Holyoke traveled to the city to stand by at the Broad Street headquarters in case any other emergency occurred in the absence of city firefighters.
By Dan Moriarty doing complex projects. Staff Writer The Gaslight District project WESTFIELD – Gaslight District encompasses the entire neighborreconstruction work will slow as hood, and municipal lots, between the winter begins to tighten its grip Elm and Washington streets on the on the region and the current phase east and west and between Franklin of work is completed. and Court streets on the north and City Engineer Mark Cressotti south. said the contractor, Gagliarducci The $5.9 million project is being Construction Inc. of Springfield, funded through a number of city will be “buttoning up for the winsources, including the Water Mark ter” as work on School and Central Resource Department and a city Cressotti streets is completed. The contractor bond, as well as state funding will continue the on-going work on through Chapter 90. The project School and Central where they will also includes replacement of water be raising structures and installing lines and some sewer lines, among curbing on Central Street only. the oldest in the city, and associated work to The contractor will also be installing a man- tie buildings and homes into the new sewer hole on School St. and the street will most system. likely be closed from the intersection of Water infrastructure improvements are Central to Washington St. being paid through the Water Resource “I think we’re going to be OK,” Cressotti Department while the sewer replacement said yesterday morning. “There will be change work will be funded with $2.75 million from orders, but that’s not unexpected with a tough the I&I account. project this big, this detailed, in one of the The infrastructure is being upgraded to oldest parts of the city.” improve the quality of life for residents within Cressotti said that Gagliarducci was selected because the company has experience in See Gaslight, Page 8
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